Federal judge overturns Biden's Title IX regulation
Joe Biden's directive prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation faced significant setbacks across the country.
TroibNews 
A federal judge has issued a nationwide injunction against the Biden administration’s new Title IX rule, thwarting its efforts to enhance protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
In his ruling, Chief Judge Danny Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky stated that the regulation concerning Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination, is unlawful. He characterized the rule as “arbitrary and capricious” and cited violations of the spending clause and the First Amendment, among other concerns.
“This is a huge win for Tennessee, for common sense, and for women and girls across America,” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti expressed in a statement. “Because the Biden rule is vacated altogether, President Trump will be free to take a fresh look at our Title IX regulations when he returns to office next week.”
The regulation, which took effect in August following an extensive rulemaking process that garnered hundreds of thousands of public comments, received support from civil rights advocates and LGBTQ+ organizations but faced significant opposition from Republican lawmakers and conservative groups.
The Biden administration has described its rule as the “most comprehensive coverage” for students since Title IX was enacted nearly fifty years ago. It also represented a significant revision of the previous Trump administration's policy concerning how educational institutions should handle reports of sexual misconduct.
Multiple states, including Kentucky, Virginia, Indiana, Tennessee, and West Virginia, filed lawsuits against the regulation, arguing that the Biden administration's rule threatened to penalize them for enacting state laws that restrict transgender students' participation in women's sports, infringe on the First Amendment rights of students and staff, and prevent schools from implementing their policies to “protect student privacy.”
Judge Reeves, who had previously criticized the Biden administration's rule in a summer preliminary injunction, stated that the department overstepped its authority by issuing a regulation that “conflicts with the plain language of Title IX.”
This ruling comes just days before the end of the Biden administration. It is improbable that the incoming Trump administration will seek to maintain the Title IX regulation in court.
In Congress, Republican lawmakers are preparing to introduce measures that would limit transgender student athletes from participating in sports and are working to enshrine into law that sex under Title IX is defined as sex assigned at birth. The GOP-led Congress aims to deliver on President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign commitments that specifically targeted transgender students in women's sports.
Top Republicans overseeing education in Congress praised the ruling, with legislators in both chambers having attempted to repeal the regulation.
“With President Trump and a Republican majority in Congress, we will ensure women and girls have every opportunity to succeed on the field and in the classroom,” remarked Senate HELP Chair Bill Cassidy, who supported a measure to overturn the rule.
In the House, Education and Workforce Chair Tim Walberg stated that the rule “would have undermined safety, freedom, and fairness for women.”
“Today marks an enormous win for women and girls across America,” he added in a statement.
The Education Department did not respond to requests for comment. However, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon defended the Title IX regulation on Wednesday, labeling previous court decisions that blocked it in various states as “absurd” and expressing concerns about the judiciary's approach.
“We published the most comprehensive Title IX regulation since 1975 — I love it. I think it’s amazing,” Lhamon stated Wednesday. “It has been enjoined in multiple lawsuits in multiple states across the country, in total, which is absurd. ... I don’t think that augurs well for a set of courts who are eager to be fully responsive to the civil rights guarantees that we have long had.”
Camille Lefevre contributed to this report for TROIB News
In his ruling, Chief Judge Danny Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky stated that the regulation concerning Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination, is unlawful. He characterized the rule as “arbitrary and capricious” and cited violations of the spending clause and the First Amendment, among other concerns.
“This is a huge win for Tennessee, for common sense, and for women and girls across America,” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti expressed in a statement. “Because the Biden rule is vacated altogether, President Trump will be free to take a fresh look at our Title IX regulations when he returns to office next week.”
The regulation, which took effect in August following an extensive rulemaking process that garnered hundreds of thousands of public comments, received support from civil rights advocates and LGBTQ+ organizations but faced significant opposition from Republican lawmakers and conservative groups.
The Biden administration has described its rule as the “most comprehensive coverage” for students since Title IX was enacted nearly fifty years ago. It also represented a significant revision of the previous Trump administration's policy concerning how educational institutions should handle reports of sexual misconduct.
Multiple states, including Kentucky, Virginia, Indiana, Tennessee, and West Virginia, filed lawsuits against the regulation, arguing that the Biden administration's rule threatened to penalize them for enacting state laws that restrict transgender students' participation in women's sports, infringe on the First Amendment rights of students and staff, and prevent schools from implementing their policies to “protect student privacy.”
Judge Reeves, who had previously criticized the Biden administration's rule in a summer preliminary injunction, stated that the department overstepped its authority by issuing a regulation that “conflicts with the plain language of Title IX.”
This ruling comes just days before the end of the Biden administration. It is improbable that the incoming Trump administration will seek to maintain the Title IX regulation in court.
In Congress, Republican lawmakers are preparing to introduce measures that would limit transgender student athletes from participating in sports and are working to enshrine into law that sex under Title IX is defined as sex assigned at birth. The GOP-led Congress aims to deliver on President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign commitments that specifically targeted transgender students in women's sports.
Top Republicans overseeing education in Congress praised the ruling, with legislators in both chambers having attempted to repeal the regulation.
“With President Trump and a Republican majority in Congress, we will ensure women and girls have every opportunity to succeed on the field and in the classroom,” remarked Senate HELP Chair Bill Cassidy, who supported a measure to overturn the rule.
In the House, Education and Workforce Chair Tim Walberg stated that the rule “would have undermined safety, freedom, and fairness for women.”
“Today marks an enormous win for women and girls across America,” he added in a statement.
The Education Department did not respond to requests for comment. However, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon defended the Title IX regulation on Wednesday, labeling previous court decisions that blocked it in various states as “absurd” and expressing concerns about the judiciary's approach.
“We published the most comprehensive Title IX regulation since 1975 — I love it. I think it’s amazing,” Lhamon stated Wednesday. “It has been enjoined in multiple lawsuits in multiple states across the country, in total, which is absurd. ... I don’t think that augurs well for a set of courts who are eager to be fully responsive to the civil rights guarantees that we have long had.”
Camille Lefevre contributed to this report for TROIB News
